Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Just take a thoroughbred name, like Mustang, have Litton's contract-man Nakajima slap together something that is almost a typewriter and you have this:

Green. Avocado green. Why would a Mustang be green? If you ever see a green wild horse, run away quickly because the zombie apocalypse is upon us.

While I have my reservations about these mass-produced-same-as-all-the-rest-why-even-call-it-a-Mustang typewriters, my students have a different opinion. It has been so popular that I have had to recondition it a little bit. Nothing major, mind you, but the rubber grommets that hold the ribbon cover on have disintegrated. Every tap of the keys is followed by the clank of the ribbon cover.

Instead of a hinged ribbon cover, this machine uses a compression fit that requires grommets. I turned to a grommet selection sold by Harbor Freight.

$5.99 for a varied selection. I used the 5/16" ones for this machine. The Brother Valiant in my private collection also needed the grommets replaced. The size; 5/16". This same size also fit the Webster in the CTP. 5/16" must be a popular size grommet in Japan. The grommet fits snugly and drastically improves the machine's sound.

As for this typewriter...the touch is insipid, but can be snappy on the return. Bonus points to Litton for making the shell out of metal although I think that has more to do with the time period and less with Litton's desire to create a quality product.

Royal typewriters form this period always make me sad. There was no desire to create a quality product that would last a lifetime. Gross margins and volume were the designers of this typewriter. Litton wanted to leverage brands and make money. That always sits poorly with me. Craftsmen are craftsmen because they create art. This typewriter was made with monotony. It's a shame because I have a very high regard for Brother's machines and they're mass-produced six ways from Sunday. Oh well, I'll have to reconcile my hypocrisy.

I think this pony looks more like a turtle.

Note to page view essayists: I will be sending out your posters this weekend!